Using case studies, this paper will explore the various types of social risks and opportunities associated with water and mineral resource development and identify key learnings relating to the management of these issues.

In the frenzy over accountability, funders, donors, and the general public are calling for more program evaluation. But few understand evaluation well enough to conduct or bankroll high-quality studies. Without sufficient knowledge or funding, nonprofits are often collecting heaps of dubious data, at great cost to themselves and ultimately to the people they serve.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs are increasingly popular corporate marketing strategies. This paper argues that CSR programs can fall along a continuum between two endpoints: Institutionalized programs and Promotional programs. Ethical and managerial implications of preliminary findings are discussed.

In Firms of Endearment: How World-Class Companies Profit from Passion and Purpose (Wharton School Publishing), authors Raj Sisodia, Jag Sheth and David Wolfe suggest that the best firms in today's marketplace are those that deliver emotional, experiential and social value to all their stakeholders, from customers and partners to investors and society...

Social entrepreneurs are transforming the lives of millions. In this exciting 16-program DVD series, some of the world's greatest social entrepreneurs share their inspiring stories and strategies – in their own words...

Corruption undermines, erodes, and threatens to destroy our economic and political systems; it also robs free markets of the very competitive forces that connect private activity with social well-being.

This case describes the progress that Ahold had made after the crisis in 2003. Since then, Ahold had followed a structured approach towards integrity and corporate governance, as one of the fundamental principles underlining its objectives, strategy and values.

This research note provides an overview of business corruption in China, placing it in a context that takes into account various political, economic, legal and cultural elements. More specifically, it examines corporate ownership and structure in China, identifies sources of corruption, and analyzes the impact of corruption on the country's social and economic stability. The note closes with a set of recommendations for countering business corruption in China.

This case illustrates the importance and efficacy of corporate governance and public accountability, whereby the mismanagement of donor funds by the leadership of a leading Kidney Foundation results in the resignation of its CEO and Board of Directors.

One typical response to the "ethics crisis" in business is a clarion call for more "ethical leadership," yet there are few explanations of what exactly is meant by the term. This case presents a framework for developing ethical leadership.

The case attempts to highlight the dilemma an individual faces while choosing between his personal goals and organisational objectives. The situation presented in the case is likely to be experienced by most at some point in their career.

The case highlights how a multitude of factors contributed to the Union Carbide disaster in Bhopal, in 1984; issues of managerial control, prevailing elements of the organisation's culture, personnel policies, structure and routines.

Having grown into one of the world's largest companies, Wal-Mart has become the object of attack from many critics. One of the principal areas of criticism concerns the manner by which the company manages its global supply chain...

This article presents a role-play exercise to make the topic of whistle-blowing personally salient to undergraduates. Students identify with the prospective whistle-blower, whose decision affects several stakeholders...

Culture at Hilti was inseparable from strategy. So when challenged at several points in their history, the company relied on the strength and underpinnings of its corporate culture to see it through. Now, with new governance changes afoot, Hilti would need to leverage this valuable resource once again.

This landmark set of essays brings new clarity to the issues of business ethics, social responsibility, and accountability, as societies around the world begin to hold corporations and their leaders to higher standards of conduct.

Building Better Boards covers all the key issues facing boards in the post-Sarbanes-Oxley era. It provides practical advice based on the authors' wide-ranging experience with major companies that have built successful boards...

‘Governance and Sustainability' examines the possibilities of
integrating the environmental, social and economic dimensions of
sustainable development within the framework of governance processes
and how that might steer societies towards sustainability...

Most managers think the legal department is that office down the hall where they go to keep out of trouble or write a binding patent agreement. And that's shortsighted, says Harvard Business School professor Constance Bagley...

Describes the four components of legal astuteness: the attitudes, proactive approach, judgment, and knowledge necessary to manage the legal aspects of business effectively. Identifies a number of legal tools legally astute managers can use during different phases of business development to create and capture value and manage risk.

Codes of conduct have long been a feature of corporate life. Today, they are arguably a legal necessity--at least for public companies with a presence in the United States. But the issue goes beyond U.S. legal and regulatory requirements...

Management literature today abounds with stories about the business case for sustainability. Yet, the author suggests, much of business's efforts in the name of sustainable development at best only temporarily slow society's continuing drift toward unsustainability. Indeed, he argues, that the term "sustainable development" has become an oxymoron. The problem really stems from management's failure to see unsustainability as a deep-seated systems failure and to appreciate the extent to which radical thinking and action are required to embark upon a sustainable trajectory.

Everyone agrees that the performance of a company's chief executive and top team has a decisive influence on long-term profitability. But what is it, exactly, that great leadership teams do? How do they create sustained competitive advantage in a firm? Consciously or not, they have learned how to deploy a conceptual tool called moral purpose that allows them to inspire and lead an organization toward enduring competitive advantage...

In Moral Intelligence: Enhancing Business Performance & Leadership Success (Wharton School Publishing), Doug Lennick and Fred Kiel look at the connection between strong moral principles and business success...

In an article forthcoming in the Academy of Management Review, HBS professor Christopher Marquis and coauthors Gerald Davis and Mary Ann Glynn develop a framework for understanding an important aspect of this issue: how social and governmental forces in local communities influence corporate decision making in the social sphere...

In 1995, the VP of Daiwa Bank's New York branch confessed that over the course of 11 years, he had lost nearly $1.1 billion through the unauthorized trading of United States Treasury Bonds and had sold securities the bank had in custody to cover losses. Discusses the impact of Japanese and American cultural differences on attitudes toward proper international business practices.

The footnote disclosure for eBay, Inc. in 2000 indicates that if the company had accounted for employee stock options under the fair value method, its reported profit of $48 million would have been a loss of $91 million.

Maximizing shareholder value (MSV) guides many business decisions and quickly becomes part of business school students' vocabulary. However, it is important to understand shareholders' interests more precisely. This Teaching Module considers that shareholders might prefer maximization at the level of their portfolio or an industry, not at the individual firm level. It focuses on the underlying question: What are shareholders' interests...

It wasn't many years ago that Wall Street sharpies were out peddling the idea that professional service firms could smooth out their earnings by maintaining a healthy mix of government and nongovernment business, which tend to move in different cycles. Corporate executives embraced the concept and embarked on an acquisition spree, generating untold fees for Wall Street...

The company Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold, Inc., long criticized for human rights violations in Indonesia asked the NGO, the International Center for Corporate Accountability to conduct an independent audit of its Papuan mining complex which employs 18,000 workers...

Grameen Bank was a microcredit bank in Bangladesh, annually lending hundreds of millions of dollars to its millions of poor entrepreneurs. This case covers the history of the bank from 1975 to 1998, with a concentration on events in the mid nineties.